LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Coast Guard officials are continuing their investigation into the cause of Saturday’s incident involving the Belle of Louisville’s allision with a dry-dock owned by McBride’s towing near Six Mile Island, and have made no determination concerning the cause or contributing factors that led to the incident.

The Coast Guard responded to the incident by dispatching investigators and a vessel inspection response team to assess the damage, interview witnesses and collect evidence. Coast Guard officials found that the Belle of Louisville had sustained damage to the bucket boards on the paddle-wheel along with damage to the jockey bar the beam behind the paddlewheel. Additionally, Coast Guard officials found a 4 foot by 4 foot puncture to the hull of the dry-dock. No other damages were reported.

An allision is a term of reference that is used when a moving object strikes a stationary object. This is in contrast to a collision, where both objects are in motion when a strike occurs.

At the time of the incident, the Belle of Louisville was up-bound at mile-marker 596 on the Ohio River when it commenced its turn to the Kentucky side of the river to return to downtown Louisville. The wind was 15-20 mph from the north-northeast direction with a slight “chop” on the water.

The Coast Guard has placed operational vessel restrictions upon the Belle of Louisville to allow for dock-side operations only. When the vessel is repaired the Coast Guard will again inspect the vessel to determine whether to allow it to operate normally.